Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

London cyclist killed in collision involving Range Rover towing trailer

Metropolitan Police appeal for witnesses to fatal crash in Earls Court yesterday

Police have appealed for witnesses after a woman was killed following a collision involving a car towing a trailer in west London yesterday.

The fatal crash happened on Warwick Road, Earls Court at around 3.45pm yesterday afternoon, with the 68-year-old victim pronounced dead at the scene. Her next of kin have been informed.

The Metropolitan Police said that the driver of the car stopped at the scene but was not arrested.

Police have asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit witness line on 020 8543 5157.

One Twitter user who arrived at the scene after the incident tweeted a picture of the vehicle involved, a white Range Rover with a large trailer attached.

Yesterday’s fatality was the fourth cycling death in the capital this year, the other three all happening in south east London.

Earlier this month, 52-year-old Antonio Marchesini was killed in Deptford while riding on Quietway 1, with the driver of the car involved fleeing the scene and later arrested by police.

In May, two cyclists, Edgaras Cepura, aged 37, and Oliver Speke, 46, were killed in separate incidents involving lorries on the same stretch of road in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Those deaths led to the campaign group Stop Killing Cyclists holding a vigil and die-in outside Greenwich Council’s offices in Woolwich the week before last.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

14 comments

Avatar
zero_trooper | 5 years ago
1 like

That trailer is some size. Wonder if the company provided any form of additional training for towing? I know that there's a category on your driving licence, but this is for business use.

Avatar
Expatpat | 5 years ago
0 likes

Very sad to see this.

But does anyone know what happened exactly, before we all judge?

Avatar
HoarseMann | 5 years ago
2 likes

Looks like this is the company involved. Other vehicles in images on their website also lack towing mirrors. 

https://www.luxury-toilets.co.uk/gallery

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 5 years ago
2 likes

RIP sister.

Avatar
pockstone | 5 years ago
3 likes

Said it before, Except in special circumstances , or with appropriate training,Trailers should be no wider than the vehicle pulling them. I've had several incidents where a close pass by a car or van has turned into an extremely close pass as the following trailer, horse box or caravan comes alongside.

Going by the personalised number plate and the type of trailer pictured, it looks like this driver pulls toilet units for a living. Absolutely no reason for them to be unaware of the width of their vehicle. If the Road Traffic Acts and CPS can't protect cyclists then let the Health and Safety Executive have a go.

Very sad outcome. Not holding my breath for justice.

Avatar
Legs_Eleven_Wor... replied to pockstone | 5 years ago
0 likes
pockstone wrote:

If the Road Traffic Acts and CPS can't protect cyclists then let the Health and Safety Executive have a go.

And then when they evidently don't give a flying fuck, let cyclists start to enforce the law. #zombieKnife

Avatar
LarryDavidJr | 5 years ago
9 likes

Should have towing mirrors on with something that wide.  Fu**ing muppet.

Avatar
jasecd | 5 years ago
6 likes

Yet another avoidable tragedy. 

The number of deaths caused by large or unusual vehicles is hugely disproportionate.  This might not be an HGV but you can bet it has crap visibility- there's no place for them in the city.

Avatar
StuInNorway replied to jasecd | 5 years ago
7 likes
jasecd wrote:

Yet another avoidable tragedy. 

......  This might not be an HGV but you can bet it has crap visibility-......

A glance at the photo answers that. Looking at the vehicle/trailer combo, plus the location of where the accident occured (blankets etc on road) it looks like a simple case of a close pass where the driver "forgot" his trailer was wider than the towing vehicle. 
A lack of extended towing mirrors certainly did not help.
 

Avatar
brooksby replied to StuInNorway | 5 years ago
6 likes
StuInNorway wrote:
jasecd wrote:

Yet another avoidable tragedy. 

......  This might not be an HGV but you can bet it has crap visibility-......

A glance at the photo answers that. Looking at the vehicle/trailer combo, plus the location of where the accident occured (blankets etc on road) it looks like a simple case of a close pass where the driver "forgot" his trailer was wider than the towing vehicle. 
A lack of extended towing mirrors certainly did not help.

So how many close-pass type things has that now been over the last couple of days where we could probably point at "long vehicle" or "trailer" as a contributing factor? 

(And, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a 'normal' vehicle with those extended towing mirrors).

Avatar
jollygoodvelo | 5 years ago
2 likes

As if it matters, that's a Land Rover Discovery not a Range Rover.

 

RIP yet another victim of the driving standards in London.

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

The only time I've ever had a collision when driving a *car* involved a trailer  - a lorry pulling a trailer with caravans on it pulled out in front of me (my priority), I stopped but misjudged how far he was going to swing and he  took my front bumper and front wing off.

Avatar
sergius | 5 years ago
11 likes

Motorists with trailers are some of the worst offenders when it comes to close passes.  They seem incapable of realising that they've 8m of crap on the back of their cars and pull back in way too early.

 

RIP.

Avatar
Legs_Eleven_Wor... replied to sergius | 5 years ago
0 likes
sergius wrote:

Motorists with trailers are some of the worst offenders when it comes to close passes.  They seem incapable of realising that they've 8m of crap on the back of their cars and pull back in way too early.

 

RIP.

 

British drivers in general are crap at overtaking, even when they pass another car driver.  You can be sitting there at 70 mph in lane 1 when some oafish twat passes you and before his rear nearside has cleared your front offside, he's pulling back into lane 1.  So you have to ease off, or else brake and that causes the other oafish twat who's been tailgating you to pull out and pass you, making the 'wanker' sign at you with his left hand as he's pulling back into lane 1, even before his rear nearside has cleared your front offside.  And this causes some other oafish twat behind you...

And so on. 

Is it really that fucking difficult to wait until you can see the headlights of the vehicle you've just passed, in your rearview mirror (i.e. the one INSIDE your car) before pulling back in?  

Latest Comments